Everybody’s heard about Abraham! He may have waited through 11 chapters in scripture and the first 75 years of his life to be mentioned, but once Abram (as he was originally named) entered the stage, his story was told, his fame spread, and to this day, he is still known for his amazing faith. And most people who know much at all about Abraham remember that he had a beautiful wife named Sarah (who was originally named Sarai). 

Abram and Sarai lived their lives serving the One True God, and He had blessed them. In obedience to God, this wealthy couple had left their homeland and traveled to Canaan with huge numbers of livestock, caravans, and who knows how many servants. God had a calling on their lives. His plan was to use this couple to begin a nation of people that He would call His own. Though God had favored them in many ways, the blessing of a child was what they most desired, yet Sarai was barren. More than once God had promised Abram that he would be the father of many nations and that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky. Still, decades went by with Sarai living with the shame of her inability to give Abram a child.

Year after year Abram waited. Years of praying, pleading, and believing. Eventually God fulfilled His promise by blessing them with a son, Isaac, who grew up and became the father of Jacob (later renamed Israel), who would in turn father 12 sons. And that, in a nutshell, is the story of the patriarchs of the Jewish nation. 

However there’s someone else in the story. Her role comes 15 years before Isaac was born. In the culture of that era, she would have hardly been worth noticing, let alone mentioning. She was simply someone’s property. That’s all Abram and Sarai considered Hagar to be, an insignificant Egyptian slave with no rights. 

Sarai could do whatever she pleased with Hagar, and the day came that Sarai told her husband to go and try to father a child with her slave woman. She thought that perhaps her shame of being barren would end. Clearly Hagar had no choice in the matter, but I imagine that a part of her hoped that if she actually DID bear Abram a son, she might actually gain favor with her master. Sure enough, she became pregnant and in the days and weeks that followed, the sour looks in Hagar’s eyes communicated volumes to her mistress. With every glance, Hagar made sure Sarai knew that though she may be nothing more than a slave, SHE was NOT barren! Needless to say, things didn’t go so well after that! 

Genesis 16:5-6 Then Sarai said to Abram, “You are responsible for my suffering! I put my slave in your arms, and when she saw that she was pregnant, I became contemptible to her. May the LORD judge between me and you.” Abram replied to Sarai, “Here, your slave is in your power; do whatever you want with her.” Then Sarai mistreated her so much that she ran away from her. 

I’m sure Hagar’s emotions as she fled were going in all directions: mad at herself, hating Sarai, and hurt by Abram’s seeming indifference to both her and his child whom she now carried. Her thoughts likely were, “How could I have believed I could ever gain favor in their household? Why would I think I’d ever be anyone that was truly valued?” 

She was wrong, though. First of all, God saw to it that both Hagar’s name and story were recorded in His Story! And something else—guess who was the FIRST baby ever that scripture records was given a name by God? Yep! Hagar’s baby! (“Firsts” in the Bible are important to pay attention to).

Genesis 16:7, 9, 11 The angel of the LORD found her by a spring in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. … (He) said to her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her authority.” …”You have conceived and will have a son. You will name him Ishmael, for the LORD has heard your cry of affliction.

And as with everything God does, He was intentional in choosing the baby’s name. Ishmael means “God Hears!” It’s amazing to me to think that when God decided to reveal Himself as a God who hears, He chose this inconsequential slave woman who, by the way, had gotten herself into her predicament by looking down her nose at Sarai from the moment she conceived. She was a nobody who had let pride rule the day, and yet God wanted to use Hagar and her baby to describe part of Himself to the world: He hears the cries and understands the hearts of everyone! That tells me that no matter who you are or what mistakes you’ve made, you matter to God—a lot! It tells me, too, that even if a child is unwanted or born in unrighteous circumstances, God still has purpose and destiny for that child. 

But there’s more…Hagar gave God a name! Genesis 16:13 So she named the LORD who spoke to her: “You are El-roi,” for she said, “In this place, have I actually seen the one who sees me? “

Lord, this story has become even more precious to me as I’ve pondered Your tender concern for Hagar, who was clearly no one else’s concern. Though her baby was not Abraham’s promised child, still You blessed Ishmael. Your heart has always been for redemption. I find it wonderful that Hagar’s single encounter gave us two names that describe You! Father, let anyone who reads her story, no matter how down or despondent or despised they may be, encounter Your love and care. And as they sense Your love, may they whisper, “You hear me! You see me!” Thank You Lord!